As campaign manager Waldman kept meticulous files on other candidates in the governor’s race, known familiarly as opposition research. Knowing opponents’ past records, and current platform and actions can be a critical determinant in an election. The depth of material prepared and accumulated by the Thornburgh campaign staff is a testament to the thoroughness of campaign research and where “no surprises” was a mantra. It was prudent also to be knowledgeable about the primary Democratic candidates, not knowing which would be Thornburgh’s opposition in a general election should he win the primary. There are clippings for each candidate, candidate assessments, plus biographical material both for Republicans and Democrats. This series is further divided into three subseries: Primary Candidates, General Election Candidate Assessments, and General Election Candidate News Clippings. The materials date from 1974 to 1978. Additional and significant material about the candidates can be found in the Dick Thornburgh Papers.

Subseries 1.Primary Election Candidates, 1977-1978

Scope and Content Notes:

In the primary election Thornburgh was opposed by six Republican candidates, he being the only “western” candidate. This comparatively large number of candidates divided the votes considerably, and the balance between east and west candidates became a significant factor. Additionally, it is fair to say that of all the candidates in both parties, Thornburgh was perhaps the least well known across the Commonwealth. On the Democrat side, there were several candidates, again with one from Western Pennsylvania, Pete Flaherty, Pittsburgh’s former Mayor. There are some preliminary “how to” files, and then the candidates are listed alphabetically, first Democrats (D) and then Republicans (R). The majority of the material in this subseries dates from 1977 to 1978.

Box 7

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1

Opposition Research Guidelines prepared by Republican National Committee, undated

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2

Lieutenant Governor candidates, Republican and Democrat, 1978

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3

News Digests about Republican and Democrat candidates for Governor, April 1978

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4

Robert P. Casey (D) - news clips, January-February 1978

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5

Robert P. Casey (D) - news clips, March-April 1978

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6

Pete Flaherty (D) - news clips, January-February 1978

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7

Pete Flaherty (D) - news clips, March-April 1978

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8

Ernest Kline (D) - news clips, January-February 1978

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9

Ernest Kline (D) - news clips, March-April 1978

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10

Robert Butera (R) - candidate assessment, 1977-1978

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11

Robert Butera (R) - Butera Committee bulletins, 1977-1978

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12

Robert Butera (R) - correspondence to and from, including Thornburgh, 1977-1978

This material documents the General Election Candidates and their issues. In the General Election the opposition research focused on the two principal Democrat candidates: Pete Flaherty for Governor and Robert Casey for Lieutenant Governor. That Flaherty and Casey were both from Pittsburgh presented an unusual circumstance, with Thornburgh also a Pittsburgher. Flaherty had the reputation of being a successful former Mayor of Pittsburgh and previously had run an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate. Thornburgh, on the other hand, was little known outside Western Pennsylvania. Casey became the Democrat Lieutenant Governor candidate due to the coincidence of having precisely the same name (Robert P. Casey) as the former auditor general of Pennsylvania who was a gubernatorial candidate in the Primary. Running among fifteen lesser known persons, the “wrong Bob Casey” was selected, having no political or public service experience whatsoever. On the Republican side, William W. Scranton III, son of the well known and much admired former Governor, became the choice for Lieutenant Governor and actively participated in the campaign. Candidate research included Scranton as well as the Democrats since Thornburgh needed to know the background and issues important to his potential Lieutenant Governor. The major research focused on Flaherty and the background topics are those from a binder distributed to campaign staff. The Dick Thornburgh Papers contain much relevant information to this series. The materials in this subseries date from 1955 to 1978.

Box 8

Folder

1

William W. Scranton III (R), biographical material, 1978

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2

William W. Scranton III (R), attachments, 1972-1978

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3

Robert P. Casey (D), assessment, 1974-1978

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4

Pete Flaherty, binder memo, July 6, 1978

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5

Pete Flaherty, biographical, 1978

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6

Pete Flaherty, political career, 1955-1974

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7

Pete Flaherty, Pittsburgh City Councilman, 1966-1969

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8

Pete Flaherty, Mayor of Pittsburgh, 1965-1975

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9

Pete Flaherty, Mayor of Pittsburgh, 1970-1976

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10

Pete Flaherty, “The City, Before, During and After Pete,” 1969-1978

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11

Pete Flaherty, US Deputy Attorney General, March-November 1977

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12

Pete Flaherty, political alliances, 1969-1977

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13

Pete Flaherty, finances, 1976-1978

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14

Pete Flaherty, primary issues, and general updates, 1970-1978

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15

Pete Flaherty, editorials and miscellaneous clips, 1969-1975

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16

Pete Flaherty, “A Second View,” with attachments, 1969-1975

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17

Pete Flaherty, running for Governor, announcement, January 23, 1978

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18

Pete Flaherty, campaign ’78, 1978

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19

Pete Flaherty, primary ’78 contributors list, 1977-1978

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20

Pete Flaherty, Flaherty-Casey finances, 1978

Subseries 3.General Election Candidate News Clippings, 1978

Scope and Content Notes:

This series contains the newspaper clippings from the campaign and are separated by candidate and month in the original order that they were prepared and distributed to campaign staff. There are very few clippings for Robert P. Casey since he had been told by the Pete Flaherty campaign to stay teaching rather than complicate the campaign as he did the first few times he appeared with undesirable results. Ultimately it was telling that the students at his school endorsed William W. Scranton. To appreciate the specific status of the campaign, similarly dated clippings from each candidate could be reviewed and compared. There are very few articles from early November, since election day was November 7, and clippings and candidate comments were no longer useful. The material dates from May to early November 1978.